Posts tagged cinnamon

Portuguese Cinnamon Tarts with Lavender Caramel

May 10, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

These have been adapted from Jamie Oliver’s interpretation of the Portuguese custard tart or- ‘Pastel de nata’. It seemed like a good way of using up a slab of puff pastry and an egg whilst keeping my mind sane and grounded during all this revision…

½ block puff pastry (about 250g ish)
Pinch cinnamon
1 egg
120g creme fraiche
Zest of 1/2 lemon
5 tbsp caster sugar
Seeds from ½ vanilla pod/ a splash of vanilla extract
Small pinch of lavender flowers

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Roll out the pastry into a rectangle, about 1 pound coin thickness and about 25cm long. Scatter with the cinnamon and roll into a swiss roll shape down the long side.
Cut into 6 rounds (they should look like uncooked danish pastries) and then liberally press each into a a non-stick or greased muffin tin pushing the pastry down in the middle and up the sides, squashing it to mould it into the tin. Bake for about 10 minutes until just going golden. You may need to use the end of a rolling pin or something round to press the middle down if it puffs up while cooking.
Make the filling by mixing the beaten egg, creme fraiche, 1tbsp of the caster sugar, lemon zest and vanilla in a bowl.
When the pastry seems to have cooked enough pour in the filling and cook for another 10 minutes or so until set with a slight wobble. Remove from the oven and quickly make the caramel.
Melt the meaning sugar in a dry frying pan until beginning to melt. As soon as it begins to turn golden and liquidy, remove from the heat, add a scatter of lavender flowers and then quickly pour or spoon generously over the top of the tarts before the caramel becomes to hard. Allow to cool and harden.

Cinnamon Madeleines

April 16, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

Today I wish I was in France….on a sunny beach in Cannes, drinking French wine and tanning on the golden sands…..Damn I am in cold England revising for some pretty impossible approaching university finals with no current future job prospects lined up and ready….anyone looking for a keen foodie employee? I can make a good cuppa….???

That leads me onto these madeleines which are the perfect match to a comforting brew. The French atmosphere was easy to implicate by the simple addition of a batch of these light and sweetly spiced French madeleines (However you will need a madeleine tray mould experience France this way…). And to add another shine to my day, my mum’s return from the supermarket with a bulging bag of obese and bearded mussels and some skinny frites was enough to satisfy my French envie. After recently making some ’Carrot Cake Ice Cream’, I was inspired to make something to pair with its creamy flavour which resulted in these spiced madeleines coated in a crunchy cinnamon sugar. Ok so I’ve probably created an American ‘doughnut-style’ finish to what is essentially a classic French treat which I’m sure any Parisian would never admit to approving of. However, revision depression called for it…..icing sugar is your nest best thing….

Makes about 12

100g unsalted butter, melted
100g caster sugar
100g plain flour
1 level tsp baking powder
2 large eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
Grated zest 1 orange
50-100g cinnamon sugar (made with a ratio of 1 large tbsp: 300g golden granulate sugar)

Whisk the eggs and the caster sugar together until pale and creamy.
Add the flour, baking powder, spices and orange zest and lightly whisk in with the melted butter to prevent overdeveloping the gluten.
Set aside in the fridge for anywhere up to 3 hours. Apparently, the longer you leave the batter to chill the better as it chills and hydrates the flour. This helps to give you that bump on the back that is characteristic of a madeleine.
When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease your madeleine tray with a little melted butter and a dusting of flour if it is liable to sticking..
Fill the moulds making sure you don’t overfill. The mixture will settle into place in the oven so don’t worry about smoothing them out.
Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on how big you made them and how large your madeleine pan is.
Once golden and cooked, remove from the oven and, while warm, coat in a generous blanket of cinnamon sugar and then leave to cool on a wire rack before eating.

In case anyone was wondering where the cake stands were from (from recent photos) I make them…..if anyone wants one, let me know and I can make them to order.

Serve with a strong cuppa or with some carrot cake ice cream

Carrot Cake Ice Cream

April 5, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

What could be better than combining the forces of a good cake and its slutty partner in crime ice cream? This recipe is adapted from the Babel Restaurant in South Africa, Babylonstoren, whose ‘cookbook-come-brochure’, is to die for. As a spicy ice cream, they suggest serving it with chilli grilled pineapple slices, but hey, whats wrong with serving it with a slice of carrot cake….?

500ml double cream
180ml milk
180ml caster sugar
5 egg yolks
1 vanilla pod
125g carrot, boiled and grated
5ml ground cinnamon
2ml ground nutmeg and ginger
125g walnuts/pecans toasted and roughly chopped

Start with the custard base. Heat the milk in a saucepan with 90ml of the sugar and the seeds from the vanilla pod until just coming to the boil.
Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl (a wide shallow bowl helps) with the remaining 90ml of sugar until combined.
When the cream is hot, tip a third of it in a slow stream into the egg yolks whisking continuously and vigorously to prevent it scrambling. Make sure it is all combined then add the rest and whisk together for a few minutes.
Tip the mixture back into the saucepan and place over a low heat stirring with a wooden spoon continually until the mixture begins to thicken and it coats the back of the spoon and leaves a mark when you run your finger through it. keep the heat low and keep stirring to prevent getting scrambled eggs….
Strain through a sieve into another wide shallow bowl. Whisk in the ground spices.
Peel about 2-3 carrots (depending on their size) and boil whole in water for about 5 minutes, until soft. Cool under cold water and then grate into the custard base and mix to distribute. Leave to cool and then place in the fridge.
Meanwhile, toast the nut in a dry frying pan for a few minutes or in a hot oven for 5 minutes and leave to cool.
When the custard is cool, churn in an ice cream maker for about 15-20 minutes until thick and beginning to freeze. Once it begins to thicken during churning, tip in the toasted nuts. Place in a container and freeze.

Butternut Muffins

March 25, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

These little muffins are courtesy of Jamie Oliver from his ‘Jamie at Home’ cookbook. The book is one of my favourites and will always be sentimental to me as it was the first cookbook I ever received on my journey to foodie obsessive. I am always making the delicious recipes from the squash chapter and hadn’t made these in a while. I’d forgotten how deliciously moist they are, just like a quirky take on a carrot cake. With a dad who hates the addition of butternut squash in ANYTHING, a little white lie that these were in fact carrot cake muffins didn’t even muster a thimble of doubt…..

Makes 12

400g butternut squash, roughly chopped
350g light brown soft sugar
4 eggs
300g plain flour
2 heaped tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 handful walnuts
175ml olive oil
200g cream cheese
2 tbsp icing sugar
½ lemon, juice
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
Lavender to garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Add the butternut squash to a food processor and roughly chop.
Add the eggs and sugar and a pinch of salt and blitz
Sieve in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder followed by the oil and process to combine
Add the walnuts and pulse to mix to make sure the nuts are kept chunky
Generously fill the muffin cases with the mixture and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked. Leave to cool
Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese, icing sugar, lemon juice, a pinch of cinnamon and the seeds from the vanilla pod. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and chill until needed.
When the cakes are cool ice with the cream cheese topping and scatter with a few lavender flowers.

Five Spice Rib Ragu

January 13, 2013 Comments Off read Meat

ast night we had the pleasure of cooking for some family friends who can always be relied upon to offer up a humble and sincere appreciation for food which makes them ideal guests. Not only am I not usually one for trying out a new dish for the first time at a dinner party but I often wonder why people do decide to venture into the unknown with pressure of for hungry guests. However, if I was to experiment on anyone for the first time, these guys would be right on my list. With some much needed tweaking in regards to flavour (sorry Nig’) from a recipe from Nigel Slater’s diaries, some added Chinese influence to this recipe turned into a winner.

Serves 6 easily

1 large onion, finely chopped
3 sticks celery, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
50g butter
4 racks of baby pork ribs (just over 1kg) cut into 3 rib pieces
250g mushrooms, chopped
1 generous handful of dried wild mushrooms
800ml hot beef stock
1 cinnamon stick
4 star anise
1tsp five spice paste
1 heaped tbsp flour
1 heaped tbsp softened butter
Pappardelle/tagliatelle pasta of choice (enough for 6)
Chopped parsley to garnish

Being by soaking the dried mushrooms in the hot beef stock for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large casserole dish with a splash of olive oil and brown the ribs all over to caramelise the outside and release their flavour. Remove and set aside.
Add the finely chopped carrots, onions and celery to the dish and cook for about 15 minutes until beginning to soften. Add a touch more oil if needed.
Add the chopped mushrooms and continue to cook until these are soft too.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the wild mushrooms from their soaking liquid and add these to the pan and cook for a few more minutes along with the cinnamon, star anise and the five spice paste. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Return the ribs to the pan and cover the whole thing with the beef stock and bring to the boil.
Now you can either simmer this on the hob, covered, for about 3 hours, or I prefer to pop it into a low oven (135°C.) for about 3 hours or so until the pork is tender and just the slightest touch of the ribs will loosen them enough to pull out the pan by hand.
After the required time, remove and discard the ribs using a pair of forks to leave the tender pork. They should just slide out. Taste and season as required.
Increase the temperature to 200°C and return the ragu to the oven to brown the top, reduce the sauce and let it thicken for about 30 minutes or so. If, after 30 minutes, it still needs to be a little thicker, simmer the pan on the hob. Then, mix the 1 tbsp of plain flour and 1 tbsp of butter together in a small bowl to form a paste and whisk this into the sauce. The flour will thicken the sauce without it going lumpy and the butter will add a nice gloss.
Cook your pasta in lots of salted water while the ragu keeps warm on a low heat. Drain and toss with a little olive oil and seasoning. Serve with a generous helping of ragu and a scattering of parsley.

This was lovely served with a green salad of rocket and watercress, crispy shaved fennel and celery and dressed very gently in lemon juice and good extra virgin olive oil for freshness.

WINE: Pasta with a roasted ragu meat sauce suits nothing better than an Italian red. Try something such as the Agricola Punica, 2013 Montessu from Sardinia available at Armit Wines

Sunflower Seed, Vanilla and Cinnamon Butter

November 19, 2012 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

I love my seeds and nuts so once again, here is another go at a nut butter. This time sunflower seeds. Whilst reminding me of my friends late hamsters dinner, these little seeds remind me of when I was little as I’d munch them all day long…Feel free to add more oil than I have for a creamiest texture but I like mine with as little as possible to retain their wholesome goodness. They don’t have as much natural oil in them as pumpkin seeds or peanuts so you will need to add some.

Ingredients

200g sunflower seeds, toasted
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped (although even more wouldn’t be a crime)
2-4 tbsp mild, light olive or sunflower oil (up to 50ml)

Begin by toasting the sunflower seeds in the oven for a few minute or in a dry frying pan until fragrant.
Add them to the bowl of the food processor and begin to blend for a few minutes.
After they are fairly powdery and broken down, add a pinch of salt and continue blending, scraping the the mixture down the sides when necessary.
Add a splash of oil to loosen and add moisture as you go.
Continue to blend, adding as much oil as you like to achieve your desired texture. I like mine with as little as possible but for a spoonable soft butter add up to 50ml.
Add the cinnamon and the vanilla seeds and continue to process. Adjust by adding more to your tastes as you go.
Once you have a mixture that is buttery and tastes to your liking, store in a sterilized jar and keep in the fridge ready to top toast, porridge or with some jam in a bagel…If you come up with any winning combination, let me know!

Sweetly Spiced Pumpkin Ice Cream

October 13, 2012 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

Its cold outside. Autumns here. Most people would NOT be thinking about ice cream, but my obsessed mind always is. I thought I’d attempt a sweetened pumpkin ice cream which would be perfect with a slice of warm, wintery pie on a chilly evening.

Its not a common one, but I like it as I haven’t got a huge sweet tooth. Its wholesome, homemade, pleasing and not too sweet. My mum, who never seems open to the concept of anything alternative in the kitchen, gave me a fearful and timorous glare when I presented it, adding- ‘Is this an invention?’. But don’t fear, its delicious!

250g pumpkin butter (see previous recipe)
375ml whole milk
250ml double cream
5 egg yolks
1 cinnamon stick
grating of nutmeg
pinch cinnamon
pinch ground ginger
80g granulated sugar
40g dark brown sugar
pumpkin seeds

First, put some ice in a large bowl with some water. Place an empty bowl inside with a sieve in it for later.
Mix the milk, cream, granulated sugar, cinnamon stick, spices and nutmeg in a saucepan and heat gently, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges
Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl and when the milk is hot, slowly pour the hot mixture over the yolks, while continuously whisking in order to prevent it going lumpy.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat very gently on a low temperature. Cook gently, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon until thickened and the mixture coats the back of a spoon and leaves a marked trail when you run your finger through it:
Now, tip the mixture through the sieve into the chilled bowl to remove any lumps and stir in the dark brown sugar.
Allow the mixture to cool completely in the fridge.
Once cold, add the pumpkin butter and a splash of vanilla if you like (or booze) and churn in an ice cream maker for about 30 minutes.

I topped mine with pumpkin seed praline! To make this, I heated some caster sugar in a dry pan until it began to melt and turn a pale golden and then immediately removed from the heat, tipped onto some parchment and scattered with pumpkin seeds!

Pumpkin Butter (Jam)

October 7, 2012 Comments Off read Extras, Sweet Treats

I’ve been seasonally experimenting with pumpkins recently. They’re versatility and texture mean they are great in sweet recipes and desserts. This recipe is titled ‘butter’ but it doesn’t actually contain any……its more of a sweet, spicy, rich, deep jam that is great with pancakes, my pumpkin muffins, smeared on a toasted bagel or in a compote with yoghurt and granola for breakfast.

1 can pumpkin puree [or you can roast and use the flesh from a pumpkin but this recipe called for the packed canned type….]
Approx 90ml apple juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tbsp cinnamon
Grating of nutmeg
140g dark brown sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a heavy based pan and heat. You may need to add a little more apple juice to make it thinner in order to heat it. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes until thick.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.

For the breakfast pots, I layered some pumpkin puree on the bottom, some Greek yoghurt mixed with a splash of vanilla extract and topped with blueberries and my granola!

I saw the recipe called for pumpkin puree in a can and have always wanted to try this…..I slightly felt like I was cheating but it was good!